Retro Review: The Sex on the Beach Book Club by Jennifer Apodaca

This review of The Sex on the Beach Book Club by Jennifer Apodaca was first published at The Romance Reader in 2006.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B rating) with a sensuality/content rating of R.

+++++

Holly Hillbay is a private investigator working in the coastal town of Goleta, California. She’s a former cop, tough as nails, and needs money. A lone operator (that’s the way she likes it) she just lost her bread and butter client thanks to her ex, Brad The Cad.

However, things are looking up. A husband who thinks his wife is cheating on him has hired her. If she is, then hubby can invoke a clause in their prenuptial agreement. He thinks the lovely Tanya is stepping out with bookstore owner, Wes Brockman, so Holly infiltrates Wes’ book club to get the dirt.

Almost immediately Holly realizes that hubby is off base. Tanya isn’t diddling Wes, she's playing footsie with lothario Cullen Vail. Even worse, Wes is really cute and Holly’s dormant libido kicks into overdrive. He wants to spend more time getting to know her, but she’s playing hard to get. Then Cullen turns up dead in Wes’ locked bookstore and he hires her to work the case.

Apodaca puts her Samantha Shaw mystery series on hold with what is being coined a “romantic mystery” for the steamy Kensington Brava imprint. Since hot sex has been cropping up in her mystery series of late, this isn’t too much of a stretch.

Holly truly carries this story. She’s a strong woman hiding behind a chick with a gun attitude. She’s been hurt terribly by Brad the Cad, and by the abandonment of her mother, so she talks a good game and never cries. Crying is for sissies. While some readers might find the tough girl act a bit thick at times, the fact that Holly is self-sufficient is a welcome breath of fresh hair. She’s still feminine, although she hates dresses and high heels, but she can take care of herself. She doesn’t need Wes to rescue her, and she’s darn good at her job.

Wes is, naturally, hiding a big secret – and when the dead body shows up in his business he’s spooked. He thought his past was behind him, and while he had nothing to do with Cullen’s murder, he can’t ignore the fact that the body was left where he would find it. So was his bookstore just a convenient scene for the crime or is Wes in danger? And while he does not trust cops are far as he can throw them, he suspects immediately that Holly will do right by him. So he cajoles her into taking him on as a client by doubling her regular rates.

The sexual tension here is very good, as is the dialogue. The opening chapters are a bit bumpy because the author immediately jumps into the story with both feet, and has a tendency to compare her characters to celebrities (Wes is described as resembling George Clooney). However, things perk up with chapter three, when Holly’s older brothers (both cops) show up. This first appearance of Joe and Seth tells readers more about Holly’s character than her first scenes with Wes. She’s the little sister who grew up being a tomboy to two older brothers. They taught her to be tough, and she wards off their meddling with smart aleck comments.

The mystery is well thought out, although the author occasionally tips her hand. Not only is Holly trying to figure out who killed Cullen, she’s sparring with her sleaze-ball ex and trying to figure out if Wes is in danger. There are quite a few balls the author has to juggle and she ties up all the loose ends well in the end.

With a title like The Sex on the Beach Book Club, readers can expect to find a fun, sexy beach read between the covers. Never mind that Brava is publishing it in the throes of winter. It won’t change your life, or alter your emotional consciousness, but it’s a sure bet for readers suffering from the winter blues or a wicked holiday hangover.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: There was a stretch in the mid-00s where Kensington Brava experimented with publishing fun, sexy romantic suspense.  I read a few of them, and while they didn't change my life - they could typically be counted on to serve as ideal "Calgon, take me away!" reads.  Apodaca was a natural fit for this concept, having written a handful of books in her sexy cozy (I know, oxymoron) Samantha Shaw series, also for Kensington.  However, looking to infuse more romance into her work, she gradually made her way over to the Kate Duffy edited Brava line.

Apodaca is still writing these days, under this name and as Jennifer Lyon.  She's strayed away from mysteries, but continues to work in paranormals and sexy contemporaries (categories and single title).

Her Temporary Hero

Jennifer Apodaca is a master at giving readers the sexy with the sweet, which is an element I've always enjoyed in her writing.  She can spice up the proceedings with the best of them, but her stories never lose an underlying current of sweetness to them that can turn the reader into a big ol' pile of goo.  Her Temporary Hero is the second book in her Once a Marine category series for Entangled, and it featured more of that trademark Sexy Sweet.  Unfortunately the good parts were off-set by elements that annoyed me and the story never quite gelled into a cohesive whole.

Becky Holmes is a former trailer park beauty queen with a three-month old baby girl.  The Baby Daddy is a vile, despicable, piece of human garbage who has just gotten out of prison for a hit-and-run that killed a homeless man.  Oh, and did I mention that Becky is the one who turned him into the cops?  Oh and the Baby Daddy comes from a Super Rich, Super Powerful family?  Yeah, Becky is screwed.

After Baby Daddy shows up, threatens her, and lets her know his family is going to haul her into court over custody, Becky turns to the only person she can - her boss at the janitorial company where she works.  Her boss has a temporary answer - stay at her cousin's house!  He lives out on a secluded ranch and he's always traveling on business.  You know, except when he isn't.  Logan Knight comes home to find a strange woman and her baby sleeping in his bedroom.  This is a problem he doesn't need, except when it turns out said problem could be a solution.

Logan has a vile, despicable, piece of human garbage for a father.  A father who blackmails him by holding a contract over his head.  Marry by the time you're 30, take over the family ranch, or else you don't get the piece of land your faithless whore mother made me promise to give you.  Logan wants that land to open up a therapeutic retreat for veterans with PTSD, but his father sees that as a big waste of time.  Why would he want to help a bunch of pansies who aren't real men?  And never mind that Logan also suffers from PTSD.  That just makes him a sissy!

So Logan needs a wife and Becky needs to be rescued.  Gee, whatever shall they do?

For the first time, she saw the absolute hard-ass in him.  The man who could kill, and no doubt had.

"Do you hate your father?"

"It's complicated."

She lifted a brow.  "Speak slowly and use small words.  If I concentrate real hard, I might be able to understand."

"Funny.  And a smart mouth."

"You're being secretive and evasive."

"Military trained."

"Pageant trained.  We can do this all night.  But if you want me to consider this wild scheme of yours, I need to know a little about you."

It's moments like this one that make this story work for me as well as it did.  But when stuff didn't work for me?  It really didn't.  For the most part I think Apodaca handled the category length very well.  Her backlist is predominantly made up of single titles, and over the years I've read authors who were good in one format, not so good in the other.  Where I do think this story sometimes flounders is with the tropes.  There's just an awful lot of them crammed in here.  The marriage of convenience, two villains, a military hero with PTSD, the heroine with an infant and no other family whatsoever, the rescue fantasy.  Less is sometimes more.

Also by the end of it I was getting mighty annoyed with the demonization of Logan's mother.  For the first eight years of his life Logan lived with his nightclub singing mother, on the back of tour buses, in dressing rooms of seedy clubs etc.  Was this an ideal situation for Logan?  Well, no. And once his father remarries, and Wife #2 squirts out two girls, Daddy gets it in his head that he needs a son to inherit the Earth.  So he drags Indigo into court, throws a bunch of money around, drags her down, to the point where Logan is living with Daddy-Of-The-Year.  So yeah, was she the best Mom?  Maybe not.  But honestly, single woman with unstable job, little money, going up against a Vile, Despicable Piece of Human Garbage Ex who has money, power and unlimited resources.  Gee, how's that gonna work out for her?  But by the end Wife #2 is telling Becky that while Indigo would come visit Logan, she'd always leave while he was asleep, chasing after her career.  Because, you know, I'm sure she felt great having supervised visits with her kid while in the home of the Vile Despicable Piece of Human Garbage that is her Ex.  Because gee, I'm sure he just made that so great for her.  And wow - what a piece of trash she was!  Thinking about a job!  Thinking about a career!  Thinking about having a life outside of popping babies out of her belly!  Ladies, your sole mission in life is to birth you some babies.  Do not let anything silly like wanting something for yourself, oh like a career, ambition, some self-respect, keep your eyes from the ultimate prize!

Ahem.  Where was I?  Oh yes.

In comparison we have sweet, wonderful Becky.  Becky who had her baby girl even though her ex ordered her to "get rid of it" before she called the cops on him.  Becky who put her nursing school aspirations on hold to 1) have her baby, 2) take care of her baby, and 3) nurse her mother before she died of cancer.  Yes, Becky probably should have done these things.  A lot of women do these things, making choices like this every day.  Becky is lauded for protecting her baby at all costs.  Well guess what cupcake!  YOU AREN'T DOING IT ALONE!  You've got Logan there to play hero.  Indigo?  Logan's Mom?  Had no one.  So yeah, her Vile, Despicable, Piece of Human Garbage Ex won.  Does this make her evil?  No, it does not.  And yet, it's implied.

Which, as you can tell, kind of annoyed the crap out of me.  Especially when, in the obligatory happy sunshine closing chapter, Logan's Daddy is allowed to make peace.  Even though during the course of the story he threatens Becky, her baby and blackmails her by saying if she doesn't hit the road he will do everything in his power to ensure her Vile Despicable Piece of Human Garbage Ex wins the custody case!!!!!!

But, you know, Daddy can apologize and Becky, all sweetness and light, doesn't drive an ice pick through his cold, shriveled up, barely beating heart.

Because, you know, Indigo was a terrible mother.  Unlike Becky.  Who seems fine to let Logan's Daddy back into the fold and not murder him with her bare hands.

Seriously, deliver me.  The more I think about it the angrier I get. Mostly because it's all so patently unnecessary. 

Which leaves me with no idea how to grade this story.  It's OK for the vast majority and there were elements I really liked.  But how Logan's mother was dealt with - oh man, that just sticks in my craw.  Maybe it won't stick in your craw.  Maybe you're thinking, "Seriously Wendy?  Once again you're making mountains out of mole hills.  Get a grip."  So let's split the difference.

Final Grade = C-

Retro Review:Wicked Women Whodunit

This review of Wicked Women Whodunit by MaryJanice Davidson, Amy Garvey, Jennifer Apodaca & Nancy J. Cohen was first published at The Romance Reader in 2005.  I rated it 4-Hearts (B range) with a MPAA content rating of "NC-17."

+++++

Like many readers, I enjoy anthologies because it’s a great way to sample several authors without investing a ton of time and money. Like many readers, I also dislike anthologies because they can be wildly uneven. For every good story, there tends to be one or two duds in the batch. Not the case with Brava’s first foray into mystery fiction! Every story is a solid read featuring eccentric characters, amusing hijinks, murder and mayhem, with a little hot sex tossed in for good measure.

Hot author of the moment, MaryJanice Davidson gets things rolling with “Ten Little Idiots.” Nurse and aspiring writer, Caro Swenson, was supposed to be at the mansion on an island off the coast of Maine enjoying her vacation. Instead, another guest comes out of her room, brandishing a bloody candlestick, claiming she killed someone in the dining room. The question is, who’s dead? It’s up to Caro and the other guests to get to the bottom of things.

Davidson’s wacky and zany writing style can be a little hard to swallow in a full-length novel, but in a shorter format it makes for a fun and fast read. Caro is a likable heroine, and the characters around her, including the hunky handyman, make for several amusing exchanges. “Ten Little Idiots” is Agatha Christie on acid; talk about a good trip!

Newcomer Amy Garvey’s “Single White Dead Guy” is the sole reason this collection garnered an NC-17 sensuality reading. Not only is the story a lot of fun, it boasts some smoking hot sex scenes.  Lanie Burke is suffering from a case of bad karma; so she decides to borrow a friend’s cabin in upstate New York for the weekend and get away from it all. However, thanks to a blinding blizzard, she finds herself in a local bar asking directions. There she meets hunky construction contractor Will DeMaio. One thing leads to another, and soon these two are burning up the sheets. Too bad a dead body shows up the morning after and ruins the afterglow.

Garvey writes clean and crisp, and the plot blazes along at a fast pace. Lanie is a likable gal, and Will is suitably hunky. Garvey has a full-length mystery due out this Spring 2005, and I’m anxious to see if she can repeat the magic at a longer page count.

Mystery author, Jennifer Apodaca races in next with “Fast Boys.” Tess Collins has a huge crush on bad boy NASCAR driver, Ark Underwood. She’s at the races for the weekend with her current beau, only to realize the tabloid journalist is using her to get the dirt on Ark. When a dead body turns up in Ark’s hotel room, Tess feels responsible and decides to do a little undercover work of her own.

Tess is sweet girl who’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. She’s also had a crush on Ark since he rescued her from an ocean riptide when she was a child. Her crush maybe a little unhealthy in a grown woman, and as a therapist she realizes that. But then she and Ark are thrown together, and she soon learns the real thing is a whole lot better than the fantasy.

Another mystery author, Nancy J. Cohen, rounds out the collection with “Three Men and a Body.” Heather Payne has agreed to compete in a reality show, grand prize being a bed-and-breakfast in Winter Park, Florida. However, no sooner are she and her contestants in residence than a dead body turns up and mysterious accidents are happening. Will Heather and hunky carpenter, Rex Gerard, be able to get to the bottom of things before the final curtain lands on them?

With the reality show backdrop, there are plenty of suspects and backstabbing to go around. Rex is a charming Alpha flirt, and Heather is a genuinely nice person who wants everyone to succeed – even if she wants the grand prize for herself.

All of these stories are quick and fun, making the mysteries very light. Brain-bending mysteries are a daunting task when faced with a short page count, and all the authors make the wise decision to include a healthy dollop of humor to keep the reader engaged and turning the pages. “Wicked” Women Whodunit certainly isn’t high art, but it’s a quick breezy read and a great collection to unwind with. Brava’s debut turn at mystery fiction will certainly make readers curious for more.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: I remember this being a Chocolate Chip Cookie Read.  That is to say, it was fun, I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but it didn't change my life.  There was a brief moment in time when Brava was experimenting with what I would call "sexy, fun romantic suspense" and this anthology may have been the launch for that particular concept (can't recall for certain now).  Total brain candy, what I would classify as a "beach read."

(I like my beach reads two ways - either totally fluffy or lots of gruesome dead bodies).

Back into the swing of reviewing and I have to say - I didn't realize how much I missed it. Sure it was great to take a long break. I could read anything my little heart desired and I didn't have to think about it. I could say to myself "Self, I liked this book" or "Self this book blew monkey chunks," but I didn't have to analyze my feelings any further than that. Turns out I missed the analyzing - who would have thunk it?

I'm currently working on a mystery - Dying To Meet You by Jennifer Apodaca. This is the second in the Samantha Shaw series and features a very interesting heroine. In the first book - Dating Can Be Murder - Sam found out that her deceased husband had been cheating on her with multiple women. Our fair heroine gets revenge by dumping her soccer-mom image, losing some weight, getting a boob job, buying a sexy new wardrobe and buying the dating service where she met her husband. Unfortunately for Sam the revelations keep coming when she finds out that scummy-boy left her and their 2 sons broke, and was involved in some sort of illegal activity.

In book 2, Sam has that little mystery solved, but she's still reeling from her husband's betrayal. She doesn't entirely trust her judgment about men - including the sexy former cop, now private investigator in her life - Gabe Pulizzi. However she starts seeing a lot of Gabe, and a new cop in town, Logan Vance, when a former client of her dating service is founded murdered. All this in between reviewing romance novels, being a mom, and having her dating service smeared in the local newspaper - what's a girl to do?

I'm having just as much fun reading this second installment as I did when I read the first - I can't wait to get back to it this evening.